Q - Page 18

Q ratio or Tobin's Q ratio: Market value of a firm's assets divided by replacement value of the firm's assets.

Quadratic programming: Variant of linear programming whereby the equations are quadratic rather than linear.

Quality option: Also called the swap option, the seller's choice of deliverables in Treasury Bond and Treasury note futures contract.

Quality spread: Also called credit spread, the spread between Treasury securities and non-Treasury securities that are identical in all respects except for quality rating. For instance, the difference between yields on Treasuries and those on single A-rated industrial bonds.

Quantos: Currency options with a guaranteed exchange rate that enable buyers who like the asset, German bonds for example, but not the asset's pricing currency, to arrange to be paid in a different currency for a fee.Quanto Option (or guaranteed exchange rate option): An option in which foreign exchange risks in an underlying security have been eliminated.Quick assets: Current assets minus inventories.

Quick ratio: Indicator of a company's financial strength (or weakness). Calculated by taking current assets fewer inventories, divided by current liabilities. This ratio provides information regarding the firm's liquidity and ability to meet its obligations. Also called the Acid Test ratio. Quotation: The bid and offer prices a dealer is willing to buy or sell at.